Retentive hanger bracket

ABSTRACT

A hanger bracket for removable mounting on a hanger board having a hanger arm for supporting display items and a yoke and brace for engaging holes in the hanger board.

States Patent [191 Zentar 51 Aug. 27, 1974 RETENTIVE HANGER BRACKET [75] Inventor: Richard L. Zentar, Middletown Twp., Monmouth County, NJ. [73] Assignee: T-R Wire Co., Belford, NJ.

[22] Filed: Jan. 16, 1973 [2!] App]. No: 324,220

[52] US. Cl. 248/223, 248/DIG. 3 [51] Int. @l. A47g 23/02 [58] Field of Search 248/DIG. 3, 223

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,018,898 1/1962 Frazelle 248/D1G. 3

3,070,339 12/1962 Schayer 248/DIG. 3 3,275,272 9/1966 Kirk 248/DIG. 3 3,289,994 12/1966 Burmeister 248/DIG. 3

Primary ExaminerWil1iam H. Schultz Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Murphy, Springberg & Clapp ABSTRACT A hanger bracket for removable mounting on a hanger board having a hanger arm for supporting display items and a yoke and brace for engaging holes in the hanger board.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures Pmmauczmm FIG.

FIG. 2

RETENTIVE HANGER BRACKET BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to support brackets and pertains particularly to those which removably mount on perforated hanger boards.

2. Description of the Prior Art Displaying merchandise on a perforated hanger board or Peg Board has proved to be a particularly desirable and successful sales technique. Using hanger boards and support brackets or hooks, a merchant can readily display products in plain view of his customers and the ease by which the customer can acquire the merchandise stimulates sales. Moreover, depleted goods are readily observed and can quickly be replaced so that additional sales are not lost.

A particular nuisance, however, is the relative ease by which the hooks become detached from the hanger board. In many cases, merely sorting through the items on display is enough to dislodge one or more hooks. Consequently, a merchant must exercise continual surveilance if he wants to maintain an attractive and effec tive display.

A broad object of this invention, therefore, is to reduce the maintenance required to service hanger board displays.

A more specific object of this invention is to improve the security of attachment between the hanger board and hooks mounted thereon.

Still another object of this invention is to achieve positive locking between the hooks and the hanger board.

Still another object of this invention is to achieve positive locking in a simple and inexpensive mechanism.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention, positive locking is achieved by combining a brace, a hanger arm and a yoke into a rigid unitary hook structure adapted to engage perforations triangularly disposed with respect to each other in the hanger board.

According to a feature of this invention, an inexpensive hook is achieved by fabricating the brace, hanger arm and yoke from stiff wire stock wherein each is permanently joined to the other to form a rigid structure.

According to another feature of this invention, positive locking is achieved by bending the yoke to engage and span perforations located in the base of the triangle formed by three hanger board aperatures, bending a portion of the hanger arm to lie along the surface of the hanger board and attaching the brace to the hanger arm in a position to engage the third aperture under tension when the hook is mounted on the hanger board.

Other objects and features of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following drawing and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a book made in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation view of a portion of a hanger board showing portions of the hook projecting therethrough; I

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the portion of the hanger board shown in FIG. 2 and showing portions of the hook in engagement therewith; and

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the portion of the hanger board shown in FIG. 3 taken in section along the line 4-4 and showing a hook in its mounted state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIG. 1, a bracket or hanger board hook 10 is illustrated which comprises. a hanger arm 13, a yoke 14 and a brace 15. The hanger arm 13, yoke 14 and brace 15 are rigidly joined together as by welding and are adapted to engage a perforated hanger board or Peg Board 12.

As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the hanger board 12 includes a plurality of aperatures or perforations 18. The perforations 18 are grouped in sets of three to form mounting triangles adapted to accommodate selected portions of the hook 10 so as to hold it in place on the hanger board 12.

As best seen in FIG. 1 the hanger arm 13 is substantially L-shaped so as to form a foot 19 at one end. Advantageously, the hanger arm 13 is fabricated from bright base steel wire stock. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the hanger arm 13 supports items of merchandise such as the one indicated at 11 for display on the hanger board 12, while the foot 19 is adapted to brace against the surface of the hanger board 12 so as to resist rotational movement of the hanger arm 13.

The yoke 14 restrains the hanger arm 13 against movement away from the surface of the hanger board 12 as well as movement from side to side. As illustrated in FIG. 1, it includes ends 16 for engaging those perforations 18 which form the base of a mounting triangle on the hanger board 12. Advantageously, the yoke 14 is fabricated from bright base steel wire stock and the ends 16 are bent slightly to form two parallel ears 20. As best seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the ends 16 are associated with the spaced apart perforations 18 forming the base of a mounting triangle and the ears 20 are inserted therethrough so as to hold the yoke 14 in place. As best seen in FIG. 4, the foot 19 is interposed between the yoke 14 and the surface of the hanger board 12. Consequently, the yoke 14 will restrain the hanger arm 13 against movement away from the board surface when the hook 10 is mounted on the hanger board 12.

As best illustrated in FIG. 4, the brace 15 links the hanger arm 13 and the hanger board 12. Advantageously, it is made of bright base steel wire stock and includes a first portion 21 rigidly attached to an intermediate portion of the hanger arm 13 and a second portion 22 which cooperates with the hanger board 12. More particularly, the second portion 22 includes a lock 23 which engages a third perforation 18 at the apex of the mounting triangle. In the embodiment shown, the lock 23 takes the form of a substantially Z- shaped bend in the end of the brace 15.

The brace 15, as best seen in FIG. 4, engages the hanger arm 13 at an angle such that it projects substantially in parallel with the ears 20 when deflected for mounting. Viewed end on, therefore, the end of the brace 15 and the ends of the ears 20 will be disposed in a triangular pattern. As best seen from FIG. 2, that pattern coincides with a mounting triangle formed by perforations 18.

Installation of the hook begins by rotating it until the ends of the brace and the ears are aligned with the desired perforations 18 in the peg board 12. Next, the ends of the brace 15 and the ears 20 are inserted into their corresponding perforations 18 and the hook 10 is rerotated until it assumes the position illustrated in FIG. 4. Rotation to the position shown imparts a slight deflection to the brace 15 and thereby causes the lock 23 to engage the hanger board 12 with a positive locking action.

More particularly, and as best seen in FIG. 4, when the hook 111 is snapped in place, the lock 23 cooperates positively with the yoke 14 to restrain movement of the hanger arm 13 away from the surface of the hanger board 12. Specifically, the lock 23 deflects the brace 15 to urge the foot 19 against the surface of the hanger board 12 so as to restrain movement of the hanger arm 13 in a plane perpendicular to the surface of the hanger board 12. Thus, as the yoke 14 restrains movement of the hanger arm 13 in a direction perpendicular to that restrained by the foot 19 and the brace 15, the book 10 will be firmly and positively attached to the hanger board 12 so that display items can be readily suspended therefrom for sale. Removal of the hook 10 is achieved by raising the hanger arm 13 until the lock 23 snaps free of its aperture 18. Removal is completed by withdrawing the ears 20 and brace 15 in the reverse manner of insertion. Thus, since removal requires a positive unlocking action, the hook 10 will not readily dislodge once it has been installed in place.

In summary, a support bracket or hook has been disclosed which is resistant to accidental dislodgment from its perforated hanger or Peg Board and which is simple to make and easy to use. While only one embodiment has been disclosed, it is to be understood that it is merely representative of the principles of the invention and many other embodiments which fall within the scope of the invention will readily occur to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A bracket for supporting merchandise for display on a perforated hanger board having at least three perforations disposed to form a mounting triangle comprising:

a hanger arm adapted to extend outwardly from the surface of said perforated hanger board and including an L-shaped foot for engaging said surface so as to resist rotation of said hanger arm in a plane disposed perpendicularly to said surface;

a yoke for holding said hanger arm on said perforated hanger board, said yoke being rigidly attached to said foot and including ears at each end for engaging first and second perforations in said perforated hanger board to thereby hold said yoke in spanning relationship therebetween, and

a deflectable brace for exerting a continuing moment of force on said hanger arm in a direction to urge said foot against the surface of said perforated hanger board when said bracket is mounted thereon, said brace having a fixed end attached to said hanger arm, a free end bent at an angle to engage the third perforation in said perforated hanger board and a center portion connecting said ends and having a length greater than the hypotenuse of the triangle formed between said perforated hanger board and the segment of said hanger arm lying between said perforated hanger board and the point of attachment between said fixed end and said hanger arm whereby said hanger arm will be firmly braced between said three perforations and will therefore resist easy removal from said perforated hanger board when installed thereon.

2. A bracket in accordance with claim 1 wherein said free end is bent into a substantially Z-shaped configuration to facilitate locking in said third perforation.

3. A bracket in accordance with claim 1 wherein said hanger arm, yoke and brace are wire members welded together to form a single rigid structure. 

1. A bracket for supporting merchandise for display on a perforated hanger board having at least three perforations disposed to form a mounting triangle comprising: a hanger arm adapted to extend outwardly from the surface of said perforated hanger board and including an L-shaped foot for engaging said surface so as to resist rotation of said hanger arm in a plane disposed perpendicularly to said surface; a yoke for holding said hanger arm on said perforated hanger board, said yoke being rigidly attached to said foot and including ears at each end for engaging first and second perforations in said perforated hanger board to thereby hold said yoke in spanning relationship therebetween, and a deflectable brace for exerting a continuing moment of force on said hanger arm in a direction to urge said foot against the surface of said perforated hanger board when said bracket is mounted thereon, said brace having a fixed end attached to said hanger arm, a free end bent at an angle to engage the third perforation in said perforated hanger board and a center portion connecting said ends and having a length greater than the hypotenuse of the triangle formed between said perforated hanger board and the segment of said hanger arm lying between said perforated hanger board and the point of attachment between said fixed end and said hanger arm whereby said hanger arm will be firmly braced between said three perforations and will therefore resist easy removal from said perforated hanger board when installed thereon.
 2. A bracket in accordance with claim 1 wherein said free end is bent into a substantially Z-shaped configuration to facilitate locking in said third perforation.
 3. A bracket in accordance with claim 1 wherein said hanger arm, yoke and brace are wire members welded together to form a single rigid structure. 